God of Destruction: The Legend of Aoba Yamashiro
by Uskius
Summary: Set just during the Adventures At Sea filler arc, this is a story of long hidden secrets and great adventure, starring Aoba and Naruto!
1. From Kumo With Love

*****AUTHOR'S NOTE***** Whew. So, how do you follow a story like Naruto Ultimate Harem Marmalade Party? You don't. SO! This _will _be a crack fic, but mercifully done in a different way, with correct spelling and grammar. Now, Most of every Naruto fic I've seen with Aoba has him being pretty much in character, acting his nice old self, even befriending Ino in a believable and non-sexual way. This has to change, and dagnabbit I'm gonna be the one to do it! This will be the secret story of Aoba, explaining all those powers we know Kishimoto is afraid to reveal he has, with the most ludicrous crack pairings I can squeeze in. The vibe I'm going for here is of an old Chinese martial arts flick, so imagine all the action and dialogue pacing like you'd see in one of those. Hrmm... I think that's it. Here we go!

**God of Destruction: The Legend of Aoba Yamashiro**

It was a sunny, clear day in the Land of Clouds, with songbirds twittering above the rooftops. Women and children walked the streets, sights being pointed out as errands were run and groceries bought. Currently, Naruto Uzumaki was in a noodle shop with Kakashi, who was briefly with the squad after Might Guy accidentally sent out an SOS. At the moment Naruto was in one of his rare thinking, questioning moods, and had something on his mind.

"So, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto asked between bites of his ramen, "Have you ever been on an S-ranked mission where you didn't really know what was going on?"

"Only once." But that was all the masked jonin said, as he imbibed his noodles.

"Well who else was on the mission?"

"...Itachi and Aoba." Naruto paused mid-bite with a surprised look on look on his face. "All I can say is that it was around the time of the Hyuga incident."

"All you can say? But that was like years ago!"

"Ninety-nine percent of all ANBU missions are never declassified, so literally that's all I can say. Sorry." With a harrumph! Naruto downed the rest of his noodles and looked at the empty bowl for a moment.

"So, what was Aoba like back then?"

"Ah, a lot like he is now, but a little more carefree," Kakashi answered, gesturing with his chopsticks. "But then the Uchiha massacre happened and his vision problems started, and he's been a tad quieter since."

"What do you mean, vision problems? He can see just fine, that's ridiculous."

"Yeah; the corrective jutsu left his eyes sensitive to light, which is why he wears those shades all the time." Kakashi took a bite of ramen. "Or at least, that's what everyone says. I know how to do my homework, I've checked the hospital records from back then..."

"So Aoba is hiding something, huh..."

"Not necessarily," Kakashi said. "That's just my opinion. You'd have to talk to him about it. You know, it could be possible he was on a mission and had it taken care of by a local medic nin; but who knows." Kakashi finished up his ramen, and wiped off his mask. The pair fished out some money to pay for the meal, and walked away back to the ship.

~oOo~

"I guess this is where we part ways, my eternal rival!"

"Til next time!" Kakashi waved to Guy and gave one of his eye smiles, pulling out an Icha Icha novel as he turned and walked away. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and folded his arms behind his head.

"From here it's just a short trip to where my mission is, right?"

"Correct," Affirmed Yamato. "But I've been told we'll need a guide, so a Hidden Cloud shinobi is supposed to meet us at the inn to guide us."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!" And so the trio left with Naruto to head to the inn, to settle down and relax before continuing with their mission in the morning. Naruto hummed a happy tune, his conversation with Kakashi almost forgotten until they reached their lodgings. While Guy and Yamato went upstairs with their bags, Naruto tapped Aoba on the shoulder. "Say, Aoba ol' buddy, how about we get a drink?"

Aoba chortled at Naruto's manner. "Sure, I was getting thirsty anyways." Striding over to the inn's bar, they sat down.

"Aaah, what will two such illustrious guests as yourselves have, if I may ask?" Questioned the bartender, a balding man with gray hair.

"I'll just have some water," Said Naruto.

"Cup of sake, if you would." The bar tender bowed and backed away to retrieve their drinks, and Aoba turned to Naruto. "So, what's up?" He asked with a smirk.

"Ah, you know, just hanging out on this S-ranked mission," Naruto said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just had this kinda random question: why do you always wear sunglasses? It weird, you even have them on at night."

"Oh, well the medical jutsu after the surgery wasn't applied by an expert, and it left my eyes a little sensitive to light."

"It's not so bright in here, why don't you take 'em off and let me see?"

"You're an expert medic-nin now? ...and besides, they look a little weird, too. Haven't been quite as popular with the ladies since." Naruto kept staring at him, until Aoba sighed. "Alright, fine." Putting Naruto under a genjutsu illusion of him removing his sunglasses, Aoba turned back to the bar.

"Aaaah, here are your drinks, illustrious sirs..." The bartender bowed again, and backed away to do his duties elsewhere in the bar. Aoba grabbed his cup and took a large gulp- but as he did so he recognized a bitter taste, and spat out what he could while he was still conscious.

~oOo~

His eyes flickering open, Aoba groaned. He tried to stretch, but found he was tied to a chair, and the knots seemed to be tied by an expert hand. There was a single light bulb overhead in the windowless room, just barely moving back and forth. _Hmm? Who's that behind me?_ Turning around, Aoba saw it was Naruto, who was still out. "Naruto. Naruto!" After calling with hushed urgency a few more times, the jinchuriki finally woke.

"Aoba? B'whuh?" Looking around for a moment, Naruto began to piece things together. "Was there something in our drinks?"

"There was something in mine; you were under a genjutsu."

"Genjutsu? All I can remember was you taking off your glasses and then I just woke up here."

"...that was the genjutsu. It- it's complicated, but essentially think of it like Kakashi covering his Sharingan."

"So you have a dojutsu? I haven't really heard of any besides the Byakugan and Sharingan."

"Oh there definitely aren't too many- outside the Great Three, there are only five that I know of, but there could be more." _Ah, we'll have plenty of time, it seems. Might as well do some explaining._ "Let's see, first I can bring to mind is the Mystogan- can sense life force, and chakra, and has some similarities with the Byakugan and Sharingan. It's last known wielder was named... Ranmaru, I think."

"Oh yeah, I remember him. Nice kid, but his eyes kinda scared me back then."

"Then there's the Hebigan, which can see heat as colors and also reportedly grants night-vision. Last known wielder is Tomu Ridoru, from Kusa. Aha, of course, there is the Shinshitsugan, which is rumored to bestow heightened hypnotic and seductive powers. Then... there's the Taidanagan, which is supposed to be able to capture action and replay it as a genjutsu."

"Those actually sound kinda useful; night vision is something I'd like to have. No more stubbing my toes on something when I go to the restroom at night..." Aoba chuckled, but the silence grew pointed after a few seconds.

"And the one I... inherited is known as the Daiyagan. It can see chakra, and also can see emotions slash intentions as colors, which is infinitely more useful than it sounds. It also has a couple other useful abilities, which I'm sure you'll see in a minute."

"Huh? What do you mean, in a minute?"

"Our captors have gathered in a room down the hall to our left, and I'm seeing a mix of killing intent and glee." Aoba heard Naruto gulp, but then just a few seconds later he heard Naruto's ropes fall to the ground. "How'd you...?"

"Wind natured chakra, remember?" Naruto was smiling as he pulled out a kunai from his pants and cut Aoba loose. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Copies of Naruto and Aoba appeared in the chairs, smiling. The real Aoba shok his head, and pulled off his sunglasses. His left eye was closed, but the pupil of his right eye had taken on a diamond-like sparkle. "Naruto? You must swear that you never saw any of this."

"Deal." The two shook on it, and took up positions on either side of the door, camouflaging themselves. The silence stretched on, until foot steps could be heard approaching several moments later and the door was flung open.

"We finally got our hands on you at last, Yamashiro." The speaker was a ninja with a greasy mustache and limp black hair, wearing a bandana. "It was pure, dumb luck we heard that brat behind you say your name earlier today, but we took the opportunity."

"Hey, who are you calling a brat?" Naruto's clone asked.

"You aren't in any position to talk back, so I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you." Said the bandanna wearing man. Three more thugs walked into the room, armed with clubs and tantos. Pulling out a meat tenderizer, the bandana thug stepped up to Aoba. "We still remember the double cross in Jomae Village. Do you? Do you remember that woman?"

"Remember? I can't remember how many women I've slept with no more than you can remember how many men you've tortured."

"Don't play games with me, Aoba! SHE WAS MY WIFE! After the night with you she became a liability, which believe it or not was the last thing I wanted-"

"She has a better life now. I may not be with her, but at least she isn't with you." Aoba's clone stated. The banadana thug snarled, and swiftly brought the meat tenderizer down on the hand of Aoba's clone, leaving an ugly wound.

"Now, we've been searching diligently," The thug whispered into Aoba's ear, "And have discovered that the payment from Tanzaki was in fact not an element of your cover, but we're missing just one thing: the location. ...we could have been kings, Yamashiro." The thug growled. "You don't understand in the slightest what that money could have done for my organization."

"...So you're making this about Tanzaki again? I was only being honest with you; Tanzaki would have dropped out of the partnership if he'd known. Nothing would have been different."

"LIE!" The meat tenderizer came down on the clone's other hand. "Everything would have been different! EVERYTHING!" The bandana thug turned to one of his henchmen, who handed him their tanto. Pressing it up against the clone's throat, the man continued, "Now I will give you one last chance to tell me where the payment is, or I will have to start _encouraging _you with this little toy here. One lie, one finger gone. You understand me, Yamashiro?" The clone nodded silently. "And don't think you'll be pulling off a miracle escape this time: I have three highly trained ninja with me, so you will only be leaving this room as a corpse if your answers are not satisfactory."

But then Aoba's cloaking fell away, and he shot a red laser beam from his right eye that set the Bandana thug's head on fire on its way to the opposite wall. The three hired ninja turned to him, but Naruto took out one with his kunai, and the other two were quickly struck with the eye beams. The clones dispersed, and after taking a few deep breaths a blue beam shot from Aoba's right eye, splashing into water upon contact with the thugs and the wall, extinguishing the flames. Naruto's jaw was hanging open slightly as he looked to Aoba.

"Nice work with the clone," Aoba praised as he put his sunglasses back on. "Now make a couple more and let's use the Transformation Jutsu before we leave."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm on it." Two more Shadow Clones popped! up next to Naruto, and he shifted into the henchmen while Aoba took the form of the bandana thug. "Aoba... what happened in Jomae Village?"

The special jonin adjusted his shades. "I fell in love with the wrong woman." Then Aoba turned away, and walked out the door.


	2. Diamonds Are Forever

Aoba deflected the shuriken, and spun away to jump from the rooftop. His opponent was annoyingly accurate with their shuriken, and knocking them away was getting to be annoying. Naruto was wrapped up in his own battle, trying to close the gap and go for hand-to-hand combat to end it, but his opponent was quick with their shuriken as well. The ninja danced across the rooftops like warring lightning bolts, back and forth and back until the shuriken and kunai were exhausted.

Aoba's masked opponent closed in on him, but Aoba's eyes left the man's intentions and techniques wide open, and Aoba easily pinned him against the wall. "Who paid you? Chono?"

"Chono got iced two years ago, tried to double cross Shinozaki; Kimura's been taking care of anyone who was in the family."

"So Kimura, then..." Aoba saw the tell-tale change of color that meant he'd hit on the truth. He didn't even have to read the man's mind.

"I just go where the money is, Yamashiro. You should blame Shinozaki for putting the word out he bagged you." Aoba slugged the mercenary across the mouth, and then again when they began to laugh.

"I have more important things to deal with at the moment," Aoba said in a low voice. He held his finger up, and it began to glow and flicker with fire chakra. "So if you survive this, tell Kimura the crow has his eye on him. Erupting Burning Finger!" With a thrust, the finger buried itself in the mercenary's gut, the hired hitman starting to glow with the same chakra as the finger before he was blown through the wall in an explosion.

Meanwhile, Naruto had just managed to pin his mystery ninja. They had trapped his clone in a purple column of light, making it scream in agony. That was when the real Naruto had made his move, springing from hiding to pin the ninja into a shadow in the alley; and at that moment the explosion rocked him, and his hand slipped down to their chest. Naruto blinked, realizing the slim ninja was too fit to have flabby pectoral muscles. He backpedaled away hurriedly, arms windmilling about. "Y- y- you're a girl!"

"Oh really, what gave it away? Was it when you groped my boo-" The young woman was cut short, as Aoba suddenly appeared in the alley with Naruto. _Crap, it's two on one now! _She tried to make a break for it, but was cut off by the Konoha duo. "You'll never get me to talk!"

"You won't have to," Aoba said. Raising his hand to the young girl, he delved into her mind. _What's this? Fuma clan? Yes, there! Contact with Kimura- no, now she's forcing me out! Dammit!_ Aoba shook his head. The kunoichi was still standing in the alley, but visibly nervous now.

"No, no! This- just when I think I've finally got it made as a ninja... Arashi and all the others..."

The name rings a bell in the back of Naruto's mind. "Wait... Sasame?"

"Yes, it's me." Sasame folds up her mask, revealing her face.

"What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I had a deep cover mission to assassinate a crime boss, but I guess since we're enemy ninja now..."

"We're not, actually." Stunned, Sasame and Naruto turned to Aoba. "I was once on a deep cover mission involving the same man. However... you'll need to come with us, at least temporarily. There are some things we're going to need to discuss."

"Ah- yes, sir..." Sasame bowed her head, and Aoba kept his eye on her as they exited the alley.

~oOo~

In the middle of the night, the three found an inn to stay at. The last room available was a small room with only a bed, small desk and chair. Being gentlemen, Naruto and Aoba let Sasame take the bed, and from there she explained how she'd come all the way from the Land of Sound to the Land of Clouds. Naruto was amazed by her growth as a ninja, and trying not to notice her growth as a female, which he did by checking Aoba's reactions to the orange-haired ninja's tale. He seemed at ease as Sasame related her scuffles with bandits on the way, and very interested when she described Kimura and his main hideout.

"So his warehouse and underground complex are only a few kilometers away from the bay?"

"Yes," Sasame nodded. "Ryuki and I were acting as lookouts when you two wandered by. But..." Sasame looked down at her hands before continuing. "There are far more powerful ninja than he and I are acting as guards inside, there's a group of eleven that work in rotating shifts of three, and one as Kimura's bodyguard."

"Well if you're talking about powerful ninja, you don't need to worry there! You've got me and Aoba on your side." Naruto did the Nice Guy pose, and Sasame smiled a little bit.

"In any case," Said Aoba after a few moments of silence, "We're going to need to sleep on this for a little bit. We can't be too hasty." Naruto and Sasame nodded in deference to Aoba's judgement, and got settled in on the floor and the bed. Aoba switched the light off, and before he knew it Naruto's snores and Sasame's slow, even breaths were filling the air. Aoba gazed at the floor, not asleep but lost in his thoughts.

_"Tiger, Boar, Ram! Got it, Itachi?"_

_"Mm-hmm, I'll give it another try." Flashing through the hand signs, Itachi called out, "Scattering Thousand Crows Jutsu!" The birds burst into being around the teen ANBU, and spiraled into the sky, freewheeling and diving like mad almost as if they were avian fractals._

_"Excellent! Can't believe I just taught this to you yesterday; but I suppose I should suspect no less from a genius like you!"_

_"Or it could just be I copied it using my Sharingan," Itachi said with a smirk, as he and Aoba chuckled._

_"Now, a jutsu you'll be wanting to use with that is the Crow Clone Jutsu..."_

Aoba sighed as the memory shifted.

_The crows swarmed the battlefield, the fires of fallen shinobi dotting the twilit landscape. Aoba was keeping pace in his hand-to-hand duel with the Suna ninja, but his emotions were running over and his Daiyagan was going out of control. He felt the beams activate and stream from his eyes, crackling rays of yellow-white lightning on moment and tight beams of crimson flames the next, the unfortunate Suna nin cunvulsing and screaming in pain as Aoba's terrible gaze swept over the scene, his roar seeming to come from nowhere and all places at once. In the edge of his vision he saw two Suna nin closing on Itachi from behind. He incinerated a frying pan sized hole through on with his Daiyagan's eye beam, and made it in time to stave off the other with taijutsu. For a moment it was a close contest with sharp punches and sweeping kicks, but after Aoba adjusted to their intentions with the Daiyagan he was able to land a swift chop to their neck that downed them._

_"I owe you for that one, Aoba!"_

_"Least I could do!" The elder ANBU kept up his defense of his younger partner's blind spot, deflecting kunai and dueling against the relentless Suna nin. "Oh no, I almost forgot! Where's Kakashi?"_

_"He's back at the pass! There were too many; he said to keep going!"_

_"No, he's- he's a member of the team, he's family! We're going back for him!" Removing his mask for a moment, Aoba let loose an enormous red beam of fire with his Daiyagan, consuming several Suna nin whole as he floated above the battlefield._

Aoba adjusted his chin as he rested it in his palm and he reminisced of the last time he saw Itachi.

_"I can't do that..."_

_"No, you can, Aoba. It's a lighter burden than I'll be bearing."_

_"But..."_

_"I know what true family is now... his eyes will be yours."_

_"But what will he say...?"_

_"...Nothing." Itachi turned away. "This will be our last meeting, Aoba-sempai. I must become the night; the far-away stars to guide Sasuke on his path of revenge..."_ Aoba was startled out of his reverie by a knock on the door. _This late at night?_ There was a stronger knock, and then the door was busted down as five masked ninja sprang into the room. Aoba hopped up from the chair, and called out, "Naruto, Sasame! Wake up!" The sheet flew up from the bed to cover one of the ninja, and Sasame wrapped it around their neck and spun, wringing them to the ground in a whirl. Two of the ninja leapt for Aoba, and he dodged their thrusting kicks and spinning backhands and needling punches, as he saw Naruto engage a ninja with his peripheral vision. Landing simultaneous punches to his attacker's stomachs, Aoba wove his blocks around the ninja assassin's punches until he grabbed their necks and forced their skulls together with a kiai. "Let's get out to the street, there's not enough room in here!" Aoba broke the window and dove through down to the pavement below, doing a somersault in mid-air before landing on one knee.

Looking up, Sasame and Naruto were leaping through, closely followed by the ninja. Aoba leapt up and caught one with a spinning side kick before using the momentum to shift his weight and start running on the wall to the roof of the inn. Hearing someone coming up behind him, he glanced back to find it was one of the assassins! He threw a kunai, but it was easily deflected. Up top, Aoba prepared and slung another kunai at the assassin, but they used a substitution jutsu and popped up behind him, dropping into a deep stance. Between his sunglasses and the night and their black clothing the ninja was practically invisible to Aoba, except for his Daiyagan. It showed them red and with hints of yellow, indicating htey were nervous and a little cautious. _As they should be._ Turning it up a notch, Aoba responded with a fury of his own, closely following the ninja's rhythm and striking with hard counter attacks.

"Sp- spare me, please!" The ninja cried, stumbling backwards.

"The crow shows no mercy to the dead," Aoba replied, thrusting his kunai into them with a kiai. He twisted it in and yanked it out, whipping around to see who had landed on the roof behind him. It was Naruto and Sasame!

"Aoba-san! You're alright!" Naruto called.

Aoba nodded, and looked to the blond young man and the orange-haired girl. "Let's head to the warehouse, as now that they know I'm back we'll have no rest until this is taken care of. Sasame, could you lead the way?"

"Alright!" Surveying the skyline for a moment, Sasame turned North and sprang away. The warehouse became clearly visible after not long, its large outline taking up a whole block. Sasame stopped them, holding up her hand. "They've probably got new guards, so be ready..."

Aoba looked around the chimney, and could make out two shapes silhouetted by the lights over the door. "You're right about the guards," Aoba confirmed. "I'll cause a distraction, then if any more come out you two deal with them and I'll slip inside-"

"By yourself?" Sasame and Naruto asked.

"Heh, thanks for the support, but... this is my problem. I'm sorry you two got dragged into it." Naruto and Sasame nodded gravely, and Aoba stepped around. Making five quick hand signs, he then made a triangle shape with his thumbs and pointer fingers, gazing through it and focusing on one of the guards with his Daiyagan. "Deranged Nirvana Jutsu: Path of Rage!" The long range genjutsu took effect, and the targeted guard began to argue with his partner, getting more and more aggressive until they were brawling. Then Aoba signaled for Sasame and Naruto to move in while he quickly cast his Scattering Thousand Crows Jutsu and made a Crow Clone. As the sound from the altercation grew, two more guards came out, and were immediately beset by Aoba's crows. While the melee escalated and Naruto began to gain the upper hand for himself and Sasame, Aoba's clone slipped in.

It was quickly spotted by two men up on a cat walk, but Aoba was not concerned with them. He had briefly been able too see the fear of a man in what he guessed what the underground meeting room when he had used the Deranged Nirvana Jutsu. The clone led the men on a lap around the inside of the warehouse, swinging around pipes and air vents as it deflected kunai, running on walls and upside down on the ceiling as it sped away. _There, over by that wall!_ The clone was briefly caught up in a scuffle with one of the men, a brute with thick arms and a square jaw. But it was easy for the Crow Clone to read his intentions, and with a sly kick to his ankle the man was sent tumbling from the pipe he and the clone were fighting on. Darting away, Aoba went down to the door and ran inside, flying down the stairs and barely getting his footing and the landings before launching himself down the next flight. Moments later he came to another door and paused, weaving the hand signs for a jutsu: "Fireball Jutsu!" The globe of flame roared up the flight of stairs, bursting against the landing. Trying the door, Aoba found it locked. He activated his Daiyagan and used the fiery red beam to draw a circle, which he punched out and then opened the door from the inside. Looking around, he saw the chakra and alarm of several men down the hallway and around the corner in a room, and raced off to meet them.

He burst through the door, and the shocked men immediately turned to him. "Yamashiro!" Exclaimed a man with a graying goatee and hair as he stood to point. "How is this possible, we sent five assassins!"

"The numbers of the assassins you have at your disposal matters little to me, and will even less in just a moment."

"Such arrogance from a traitor! The nerve you have to even show your face at my headquarters is astounding." The man shook his head. "But you are right, the number of assassins available to me matters little, because the ones in this room are more than capable enough to do the job!"

"Wrong again, Kimura. They will never be able to soar with the crow."

"That's enough, after him!" Three assassins dropped their cloaking and threw shuriken straight into the clone's chest, and it began to laugh as it dispersed into crows. They flew around in the room, diving for the heads of the merchants and bodyguards.

Back outside, Sasame and Naruto had dealt with the door guards, and were back on the rooftop with Aoba. "Is this the actual you...?" Sasame asked.

"Yes, it's the real me." Aoba answered. "Now start heading back to the inn, I don't want you two very close for this..."

"A big fire style jutsu, then?" Asked Naruto. Aoba nodded, and in turn Naruto nodded and took off with Sasame. Waiting until he could hear them conversing as they leapt away, Aoba hopped onto the chimney and jumped up as high as he could, to get all of the warehouse in his view as was possible.

"AMATERASU!"


	3. Sharingans Are Forever

Slitted eyes looked upon the massive black flames, wondering how many bridges had been burned in the blaze. An independent- some would say rogue- ninja with a high profile such as themselves would be in need of more _discreet_ ways to accumulate cash, and what they saw before them was one of the larger chunks of that discreet portion of their income burning like so much trash. And not just burning- but by the unquenchable flames of Amaterasu, which could only mean one of two people had done this: Sasuke Uchiha, or... Tobi.

With his keen senses, Kabuto hopped from roof to roof, following the trail of destruction and fallen kunai. It led back to a certain inn. Using the Transformation Jutsu, Kabuto jumped down from the roof as a Leaf ninja, and walked in. He caught the eye of the innkeeper, and walked over to the counter.

"I got separated from my comrades, and I was supposed to meet with them here. Have any shinobi come by recently?"

~oOo~

"But shouldn't they be here now?" Sasame asked, looking around the port.

"Yeah, where are they?" Naruto wondered along with her.

"My best guess is they headed back to Konoha to report our disappearance." Aoba mused, holding his chin in his hand. "In fact since the boat's not here that's probably what happened." _We could swing by there, it's safe and close to the Land of Fire. It also puts some distance between us and the warehouse fire._ Aoba nodded. _ Alright then, guess that settles it._ "So who's ready for some more sailing?"

"Oh I love sailing!"

"Are you kidding me we just landed here a couple days ago!" Naruto and Sasame said at the same time.

"Well, I'm afraid you don't have much choice there, Naruto." Aoba said with a slight smile. "With what happened to the warehouse it's an extreme danger to remain here at the port town, so no matter what we've got to put some distance between us and this place. I know a place in the Land of Waves we could head to, and hide out there until we make contact with Konoha."

"Oh hey, the Land of Waves! maybe we could say hello to old man Tazuna and Inari."

"Sure, sounds like a great idea. But... we're gonna have to do something about a boat. My pockets got cleaned when I was abducted, so I won't be paying for it."

"Yeah, they cleaned out Gama-chan too," Naruto complained with a grumpy face.

"Um, I still have a little bit of my last payoff from Kimura. It might be enough for one of us." Sasame offered.

"And the other two of us could sneak aboard!"

"That could work." Aoba turned out to sea, getting a better view of the ships. "But we'll have to take one of the larger ships, hope the merchant is headed to the Land of Waves." Aoba looked back to his younger companions. "Naruto. How about you take a look around, see who's going to where we are, and who might need another hand on deck."

"I'm on it!" Enthusiastically saluting the special jonin, Naruto turned and jogged off to one of the larger vessels down the wharf.

"I suppose we'll just be hanging around in one of the taverns until Naruto-kun is finished?"

"Actually, first I wanted to check if there were any ninja tool stores around, and grab some shuriken and kunai first. I should be able to get some on Konoha's credit."

Sasame nodded, but something had been bugging her. "Aoba-san, I've heard the locals talking about the warehouse burning, but I didn't hear any explosions last night and I was wondering-"

"Oi, Aoba! Where'd you run off to?" The duo turned to the approaching ninja- Yamato!

"I guess we were thinking of different inn when we got separated," Aoba chuckled. "Where's Guy and the rest of the crew?"

"They went ahead and sailed off; I stayed behind to look for you. Naruto off to the bathroom?"

"Yes, we're just waiting out here for a moment." Sasame said.

Yamato nodded. "Alright. I'll go and send the messenger pidgeon, meet with you back here." Sasame glanced to Aoba and headed into the tavern. Yamato and Aoba leapt off, skipping over the roofs. "What's up?" Asked Yamato, looking over at Aoba.

"Quick word about Naruto and the mission." Nodding down at the office building, Aoba landed and was soon followed by Yamato.

"Is he beginning to get a little... extra 'Naruto' on y-"

"Drop the transformation," Aoba threatened, slamming Yamato against the stairwell.

"T- transformation, what are you-" Aoba smashed his fist into Yamato's mouth, knocking a few teeth loose- and breaking the ninja's concentration long enough for the Transformation Jutsu to dispel. Aoba's eyes widened, then narrowed in disgust.

"...You risked a lot with this one, Kabuto."

"On the contrary, I risked almost nothing- I was already in the area and then this pleasant matter with Kimura and Shinozaki comes to my attention. And then I just so happen to hear a certain jinchuriki and two ninja were involved in the hit..."

Aoba shook his head. "They had nothing to do with this-"

"As I suspected, which only leaves one person left. Tell me, Aoba, would you agree that revenge is best served... hot?"

"And with a dash of nutmeg. What are you getting at?"

"I saw the warehouse, and we both know there are only two people alive capable of pulling off something like that. So what I'm getting at is... how long have you been in league with Tobi?"

Confused, Aoba let go of Kabuto and leaned away. "Tobi...? No, no you don't understand. I'm a Konoha ninja to the core, I'd never betray my village like that."

"Where there's smoke there's fire, Aoba. I'm just calling it as I see it."

"Well you're seeing it wrong!"

"Or am I? Us two know better than almost anyone what Konoha spies go through, Aoba. It could be that you're the one who risked a lot by forcing his hand here." Aoba silently shook his head, a stony look of disdain on his face. "But the thing is, I didn't come here to stop you. As any sane man would, I distrust Tobi. We could seize power from him before his Eye of the Moon plan goes through, and then just think of all the data we'd be privy to: all those lab experiments of his, Akatsuki plans..."

Aoba sighed and closed his eyes, and removed his sunglasses. "There's no return from this road, Kabuto. The path of the tyrant always ends in disaster."

"I AM NOT SET ON ONE ROAD! I forge _my own_ destiny! My own identity!"

"...and those are the words of one who is too far gone to realize his fate." Aoba opened his eyes. "Fighting fire with fire only leads to greater destruction! For the sake of Konoha and the ninja world I'm going to stop you here!" Shades of shock and horror passed over Kabuto's snake-like visage, as he recognized the red and black staring at him from Aoba's left eye: a four pointed star outline overlapped by a shape like a Fuma shuriken- it was a Sharingan, and appeared to be a Mangekyo Sharingan, at that! Aoba hopped back, making a half Ram sign by his mouth before bending over and unleashing a stream of air from his mouth that propelled him high into the air. Biting his thumb to draw blood, Aoba made the hand signs for the summoning jutsu, calling forth the crow boss, Karasuma.

Looking up under the sudden shade, Kabuto knew he was, if not quick to act, dead. Deciding on a summon of his own, he too made the hand signs for the jutsu, and summoned Manda 2. "_Prepare for a spray of venom, we absolutely cannot afford to let him get too close."_

_"The little bird and it's rider are that dangerous? If I didn't know better I'd say you sound scared, Kabuto."_ Manda 2 prepared the venom spray as ordered, and with a burst of pale green mist it entered the air. Despite the long range it was, of course, dodged. Karasuma and Aoba soared around it, the mist swirling up with the drafts from Karasuma's wing beats. There was a great yell from above, and Aoba let loose an immense beam of red fire from his Daiyagan, slicing through a few unfortunate buildings on its way to Kabuto. With Manda 2's reflexes it was easily dodged, but it swung back around and incinerated Manda 2's right front leg.

_"Damn it! Just head for the ocean!"_ Manda 2 had no problem following that order, but as it circled around another beam of fire ripped across its path.

From Aoba's aerial view, the port town was nearly bisected by the fires left from his Daiyagan. "He's likely going to look to head off towards the sea, away from the mountains."

"Roger that. You thinking what I'm thinking, kid?"

"Yes, but I don't want to go there just yet Karasuma-sama. I don't want razing another town on my record."

"Wuss." As Aoba executed the Scattering Thousand Crows Technique, Karasuma took them around and came in from the sea, closer to Manda 2's tail. Working up his emotions, Aoba prepared for another Daiyagan beam but Manda 2's tail came up and slammed into them!

_"Make a break for it, now!"_ Manda 2 sped away around the flames towards the mountains, while Kabuto dodged fire beams from a few Crow Clones that had dropped down from the flock. A few well aimed senbon were enough to disperse them, but the flock of crows continued to harass him. Thinking roughly the same thing, Manda 2 spat out another spray of venom, which cleared their way- or so they thought.

Aoba had in fact used the Self Replication Summoning Jutsu with Karasuma, who was now split into two giant crows! One swooped in and engaged Manda 2's tail, lifting it off the ground so Manda 2 couldn't gain extra traction with its short legs. The other Karasuma had circled back around and now confronted Kabuto and Manda 2 face to face. "Our last big jutsu, you ready?"

"Whenever you are!" Aoba nodded and worked up a majority of his remaining chakra, and expelled it from his mouth in a great stream, and Karasuma helped it along with gusts of wind from flapping his wings. It washed over Manda 2 and set nearly all of the inland half of the town and parts of Manda 2 ablaze.

"Alright! Get me down there on the head, please!"

"Hold on!" Karasuma dove with startling speed, but it still was not enough. Manda 2 was ready, and spewed venom again. Karasuma fought off the worst with powerful wings beats, but even a little was enough and it had gotten in his eyes. Aoba dove off, and as he landed on Manda 2 Karasuma disappeared with a cloud of smoke. Aoba rushed in and engaged Kabuto in hand to hand combat, finding the rogue ninja to have a surprising amount of talent there. After several intense moments with Manda 2 on the move, Kabuto came up from ducking a spin kick with his hand shrouded in chakra. Aoba lunged back in surprise, catching Kabuto's forearm right on time. A wicked grin on his face, Kabuto swung around his other hand. Aoba ducked the second Chakra Scalpel attack, but in doing so he'd come down in range of Kabuto's personal snake! It bit him on the shoulder, pinning him down.

"What was it you said earlier, about fighting fire with fire? Ah yes, it only causes more destruction. Such wise words from a bumbling hypocrite."

_Damn! If only I had enough chakra left for Amaterasu..._ "Well there are few hypocrites worse than traitors."

"Aha ha ha! Look at you, you don't even know what you're saying now. You know, I hadn't originally intended to finish you off, but I think the world would be better off minus one person who knows what you know and has a Sharingan. All it will take is a little signal from me, and this snake will begin to pump its poison into your veins- you'd have a minute to live, tops-" Kabuto was cut short by a yellow-white beam from Aoba's Daiyagan, the electricity sizzling over his stomach where it had connected. With a pained grunt Aoba pried the snake's jaws off of his shoulder. The two traded deadly intense glares, before the burning silence was interrupted.

"This town's on fire, just like my smokin' rhymes- but I've arrived here just in time!" Suddenly Manda 2's tail was lifted up and slammed back into the flames, and off in the distance Aoba saw a large tentacled monster, what looked like a Tailed Beast!

"This round goes to you, Yamashiro! But mark my words we'll meet again! Manda, emergency exit!" Kabuto made the Snake hand sign, and promptly his summon began to burrow into the ground. Aoba was caught off guard, and floated in the air a bit before falling onto Manda 2's back.

_Can't go down with him, looks like his summon's tunnel is skin tight!_ Rolling up and using his highest jump, Aoba sped through the hand signs and summoned a crow in mid-air, right over the flames.

"Ouch! Hothothot, you tryin' to make a pie with me or something?"

"S- sorry about that, Edoga," Aoba apologized, winded from the fight. "Didn't have much time or space to work with."

"Ah, I see that now. Where we off to?"

"To the shore, where that Beast i-" _I guess he released his transformation._ "-was, just a second ago."

"Cool. I'm on it, boss." Slipping on his sunglasses, Aoba took a breather on the flight over to Killer Bee, only beginning to imagine what he'd have to say to Tsunade and(he shuddered) possibly the Raikage. The wind ruffling their feathers and hair, it was only a few moments later until they came to Killer Bee. He stood waiting for them with his arms folded across his chest, the sunlight reflecting off his shades.

"You're a lifesaver, Edoga."

"Ah, thank ya thank ya." Aoba ruffled the crow's head feathers, and let him go in a puff of smoke. Killer Bee still stood staring at Aoba, silent.

"...Uh, I'm Aoba Yamashiro, of Konoha. You're Kumo's jinchuriki, I assume?"

"Yo, I am, but what's it to you, bro? You're a Leaf ninja, what do you know?"

"I was actually on the team assigned to guarding our jinchuriki, but he and I got separated from the rest of the team..." Aoba gulped. "He should be aound by the docks; and I'd like for you two to meet."

"Well, I'll check it out though I kinda doubt it. In the meantime, bro- pound it!" Killer Bee held out his fist, and Aoba nodded tapped it with his own.


	4. On the Road Again

"Ah, you know I could get used to this..." Sasame said, taking another sip of her sugar honey iced tea.

"Yup," Naruto agreed. "This sure is a heck of a lot better than the trip here. Uh, no offense, Aoba."

"None taken," Aoba replied with a smile. Currently the trio and Killer Bee were relaxing on the party deck of the Kumo jinchuriki's yacht, enjoying the sunset as they sailed off to the Land of Waves. The last few weeks had been picture perfect sailing weather, with friendly quarrels frequently occurring between Naruto and Bee. Naruto had grudingly earned Bee's respect during their sparring sessions, the straightforward pro wrestling of Bee clashing furiously with the equally direct martial arts style favored by Naruto.

At first Sasame had trained with Aoba, the special jonin doing what he could to offer tips. He saw her determination begin to come out, her blocks getting a little sharper and strikes more accurate. She would watch Killer Bee and Naruto go at it after she finished training with him, keeping her eye on Bee and his Lariats and Superkicks, and then after a few days Aoba realized what he was seeing. He couldn't believe it, but it was right there before his eyes; and Killer Bee seemed to be friendly to Sasame. She began to train with him and Naruto, not quite keeping up with their pace but definitely their intensity as she developed her Superkick and her submission holds(on Naruto). A few times Aoba saw Bee helping her along with her nature transformation, showing her how to channel her lightning natured chakra into a tanto. Aoba made sure to take note of this, as he himself had learned to use lightning natured chakra well.

Then there had been the messenger pidgeons. Aoba's theory of the team leaving for Konoha to report back had been proven to be true, and it was decided the two teams would meet in the Land of Waves to regroup before moving out again. The near total destruction of the port town was glossed over, with Aoba just vaguely mentioning the fight with Kabuto was damaging. _Wonder when that's gonna come back to bite me in the ass, when that viper will twist up against my shins..._ Aoba sighed. _Of all the people to make enemies out of... I shouldn't have tried to take his snake out of the equation, I should have just used Amaterasu while I still had enough chakra!_ Aoba stared at the sun for a moment, then shook his head.

"Say, Bee-san," Sasame started, tilting up her sunglasses, "Wanna go for another swim?"

"A quick dip in the pool sounds just great, yo- but let's make sure to eat before it's too late, though."

"Awesome!" Sasame took off her sunglasses and left them in the deck chair as she hopped up, a smile on her face.

Aoba watched the young woman leave, and nodded to Killer Bee as he walked by. The jinchuriki paused mid stride, and then turned back to Naruto and Aoba. He nodded back towards the pool, but the Konoha ninja shook their heads. With a shrug Killer Bee continued walking off to his swim.

After they were out of sight, Aoba looked over to Naruto. "She's a great ninja, Naruto. But I think you've missed your chance with her."

"Wha- hey! I don't like her like _that_, Aoba... much." Naruto quickly took a drink of his soda, looking away as Aoba laughed.

~oOo~

Aoba had just come from the sauna with a towel draped over his shoulders, when Sasame caught up to him. "Hey, Aoba-san, would you mind sparring with me? Uh, after you get dressed, that is."

"Oh, sure. Killer Bee busy?"

"No, he was going to watch, and give me some pointers." Aoba nodded and made to leave but Sasame stopped him. "It- well, I couldn't get in a hit on Bee when if was really trying either, but it was different with you, it was like you could almost read my mind. I wanted to see how I could do now..."

"Well, I can read minds, but not while I'm moving too fast." _And then there's the Daiyagan, but she's already suspicious of me so that'll be staying a secret for now._ Clearing his throat, Aoba continued. "Yeah, sparring. Meet you there in five." Departing with a wave, Aoba made off for his room.

It was a short journey, being around the corner to the stairs and just down the hall a ways; and quickly throwing on his Konoha uniform Aoba soon returned. The sauna was actually right across the hall from the gym, next door to the showers. Casually flicking open the doors Aoba walked in, seeing Bee and Naruto and Motoi already in there.

"Hey! Ready to rumble?" Sasame asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Just don't go all destroying the yacht like that harbor tow-"

"Show me what you've learned, Sasame!" Aoba shouted, interrupting Naruto. He ran forwards, immediately beginning his offensive: a myriad of flowing hand strikes, aiming to confuse Sasame's defenses. She blocked a few, but upon starting to fall behind she attempted to roll out of the way. Aoba dove for her with a low drop kick, catching her in the knees as she attempted to jump and sending her flipping past his head. Aoba rolled out of the way of her thrusting kick, and then having to roll away again from from another kick, weaving his kicks and blocks from on his back. Aoba pushed back onto his shoulders and twisted up with a helicopter-like kick which Sasame ducked, turning and going into a low spinning kick the orange-haired kunoichi back handspringed over.

She came at him fiercely, with a rush of her fastest punches. Aoba was impressed with the speed but still was able to ...see through Sasame's technique. Aoba broke up the rhythm with a roundhouse kick, Sasame drifting to her right and launching her own roundhouse. Aoba of course readided his arm and blocked it, but it wasn't actually a roundhouse kick- Sasame spun her leg over and rolled forwards as she dropped, catching Aoba in an elegant flying omoplata. Not wanting to struggle out of it just for sparring, Aoba tapped out and applauded Sasame as they separated and stood.

"I learned that one yesterday." Sasame said, smiling.

"Pretty good; it's been years since the last time I've seen one." The jinchuriki and Aoba and Sasame looked to each other, feeling the seed of a new hope had just been planted.

~oOo~

"Man, this sure brings back memories," Naruto said as he looked around the revitalized Land of Waves.

"You can say that again..." Aoba whispered.

"Man this sure does bring back the memories of my mission here," Naruto repeated. Aoba sighed and facepalmed, while Sasame looked up at him from his other side.

"So when was the last time you came here, Aoba-san?"

"Ah, around eleven or ten years ago. It was one of those missions where things get out of hand, a little like yours was, Naruto. Except it was more dealing with a group, than a single ninja like Zabuza."

"Hmm... were Kakashi and Itachi on your team?" Naruto asked.

"No." Aoba looked away. "Itachi and I weren't in ANBU at that point."

"Wait, you knew Itachi? As in, Itachi Uchiha?" Asked Sasame.

"Yeah, he was a pretty popular kid before... well, you know." Quickly scanning the area, Aoba looked back to Sasame and Naruto. "Ahem... this isn't the best place to be talking about my missions, guys. You remember what happened the last time, don't you Naruto?"

"..."

"...Am I missing something?" Questioned Sasame, seeing the staredown between Naruto and Aoba.

"Not too much," Aoba said without looking away.

"Yo, ditch that anger and swap it for cheer, according to the map we're finally here!" Killer Bee announced. Visibly excited, Naruto bounded up the steps and knocked on the door. There was silence, and then Naruto knocked again as the rest of the party came up on the porch. Sounds of footsteps came from the other side, and when it opened it was seen that Tazuna and Inari had returned already, and that Tsunami was there with them as well! A vaguely familiar young girl with messy dark hair and blue eyes was at her side, and they both were staring at Aoba as Naruto and the others greeted Tazuna and Inari. As Aoba looked back and forth between them, he realized what he was seeing...


	5. Bridge Over Troubled Water

"You didn't have to slap me," Aoba commented.

"_Ten years, Aoba!_ Even the Daimyo get vacations more often than that!"

"Fine then, so maybe I deserved the first! But still the second was wholly unwarranted-"

"Stop your image management! I don't even _have _a picture of you and Ageha and she didn't even know she had a father until ten minutes ago! Second one _deserved!_" If looks could kill, then the crickets filling the silence would have been singing Aoba's funeral dirge. Inevitably, it was broken up by another slap. "And that one was for letting me think you were dead."

Aoba adjusted his glasses and rubbed his stinging cheek. "What's the fourth one for? Not giving child support?"

"Fourth is for being a smartass just now," Tsunami replied, dealing out the hit. "_Fifth_ is for not sending some child support checks, and the sixth is because I'm angry and just feel like hitting something." Tsunami took a deep breath, then slapped Aoba with her right hand. "And the seventh is so I can remember what it looked like when you blushed..." Aoba looked down, both his cheeks red from Tsunami's assault. She pulled off his sunglasses and tugged him down to the deck chair, wrapping her arms around him with a kiss.

"...Well, at least she slapped him first," Inari said as he looked away towards his sister. Ageha closed the blinds and turned to Naruto and the others. She silently nodded. The tension built up, and Naruto almost passed out from the awkward.

"Man, I'm hungry! I could sure use some ramen right now!"

"I'll order, my treat." Tazuna said. "In the meantime KWF Smackdown is on, main event's Jun Shina vs Randi Sabeji."

"Wha, you get KWF out here?" Naruto asked.

"Mm-hmm. Come on," Tazuna waved them all into the living room, picking up the phone from the wall cradle on the way there.

Back on the patio, Aoba brushed the hair out of Tsunami's eyes as he looked into them. "This is way too late for it to really mean anything, but I'm sorry. I'd have come here right away, but that wouldn't have been wise after a deep cover mission like I was on. So that explains roughly the first year until I came back after Inari was born. The second year... I had a man named Shinozaki after me. Deep cover or no I didn't want him anywhere near you and Inari, or Ageha. That's why I faked my death after I hid Tanzaki's shipment, I thought it would buy me some time. The third year... the third, I just tried to keep myself busy so I couldn't think about here and all this, and get distracted, and that's how it stayed for a while..."

"Why didn't you take a leave of absence, I'm sure they would have let you stay for at least a little while. Genryuusai let me out after I got pregnant with Ageha."

"The Third was never as soft as Genryuusai, you know that- and besides after the Uchiha Massacre and the mess with Shinozaki I got appointed as an ANBU, probably so Konoha could keep a closer eye on me."

"Uchiha...? How many did you...?"

"No, it was an inside job... one of my fellow ANBU, Itachi Uchiha. The eyes were a parting gift of sorts."

Tsunami leaned in and gave Aoba a leisurely kiss. "I still like your other eye better." A bitter smile came onto Tsunami's face as she started to tell of her side of the ten years. "I almost couldn't get used to living as a civilian, at first. It was hard enough with Inari, but... I just couldn't support myself with him and Ageha, I went broke when I ws pregnant with her. I- I put her up for adoption right after she was born and I didn't see her again until after I met Kaiza..."

Aoba remained silent for a moment, sensing Kaiza was still a very sensistive subject. "So what about Ageha's eyes? Has she awakened the Daiyagan?"

"Oh! Yes, actually! She's been obsessed with becoming a ninja this past year, and one day I saw when she walked into the house from training-"

"Ninja?"

"She can't have thought of it on her own, Inari must have told her about Naruto and his team- but yes, a ninja. I've only been teaching her basic chakra control techniques like water walking and tree climbing."

"The Daiyagan means a lot more around here than back in Konoha... She, it-"

"I've already told her to be careful with it, if that's what you're getting at."

"No it's- the Daiyagan is something I'd have to teach her, or one of my uncles would. So... if it all possible, I'd like for you and Inari and her to come to Konoha. I make enough for all four of us, now; and I could even use a bit of Tanzaki's loot to get us a nice place built."

"Well," Tsunami began after thinking for a bit, "That's something I'd like to seriously consider, but we should involve the kids with the decision too."

"Should we go join them?"

There was a huge outcry from the living room, and a voice came from the deck chair. "You might want to have a word with me first," Tobi said. Aoba sprang up from from the chair and turned to look- the masked man was holding an unconscious Ageha in his arms.

"What are you doing with her?" Demanded Aoba.

"Why, using her as bait to lure you into a battle where you're hopelessly outmatched, obviously. Problem?"

"Damn right I've got a problem with that, Tobi!" The mystery man laughed, and kissed the top of Ageha's head with mocking affection.

"Ah, such a precious young child. Your second, I believe?" Tobi's eyes did not waver from Aoba's face, and focused on his eyes for a moment. "Ah, a Yamashiro. Such a pitiful clan; never as affluent or influential like the Kurama or Sarutobi clans, a flashy dojutsu never as renowned as the Sharingan or Byakugan. You barely even had a decent piece of Konoha to yourselves, just a small alley if I remember correctly."

"But it was enough. We Yamashiro may not have the fame, but we've always been some of the best shinobi Konoha's had. And I am no different."

Tobi shook his head. "Aoi and Gozu will forever stand alone as the great Yamashiro- a little bird like you cannot hope to reach the same level as them, or even the level of this new generation!"

"You mean the level they may reach one day."

"And the heights they've climbed to already. Now enough of this. If you wish to see this child again you will meet with me at the bridge as soon as you can. Then we'll see where your proper place in the legacy of Konoha is." With that, Tobi began to teleport away, swirling in on himself until he was gone.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, rushing through the back door.

"He took Ageha with him to the bridge," Tsunami explained.

"That piece of garbage! Who does he think he is?" Naruto raged.

"My thoughts exactly," Aoba concurred. "Listen, Naruto: I will go there to meet him. You have to remember that the last thing we need is for you and Bee to get caught up in this and captured, so you two absolutely _cannot_ follow me. Is that clear?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"Stay here! Tsunami?" Aoba's estranged wife nodded, and he tossed her a kunai. "Head over to the inn with Yamato and Guy, stay there with them until I can come back!" The two flashed off full speed, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

~oOo~

The wind blew quietly through the scene, as if not wishing to disturb the moment. But then suddenly Aoba and Tsunami arrived on the scene, landing on one knee looking to the bridge. And then, jumping down from the roof of the pavillion came Tobi, Kabuto, and Sasuke Uchiha. Ageha was slung over Tobi's shoulder, apparently still unconscious.

"So you did come. Admirable, almost."

"I'll not accept praise from a madman such as yourself, Tobi."

"You think me mad? You have the Daiyagan, but still cannot see the conviction in me? Who is the crow chasing the butterfly, which of us has let their life take control of them? You came here expecting to find a madman Yamashiro, but instead you found a _GOD!_" Tobi threw down Ageha then, revealing bruises on her face. Aoba's blood boiled with rage, and Tsunami cried out and dashed forwards.

With a subtle look from Tobi, Sasuke drew his sword and swiftly channeled his lightning chakra through it, the beam lancing out and striking Tsunami through the stomach. The brave woman sank down to her knees, but fought through the pain and made three hand seals. "Water Style: _Black Rain Jutsu!_" Breathing a large black cloud into being, Tsunami slumped over as the sun was blocked out and the lightning was withdrawn from her.

"A small and worthless trick," Sasuke said as it began to rain.

"N- NO! Tobi, _what flavor is your blood?_" Aoba roared.

Leaning over to Kabuto, Tobi whispered, "Two of the six. The others are approaching swiftly."

"As you wish," Kabuto agreed. He backed off to under the pavillion and began his work. Aoba was running forwards with a kunai raised, but Sasuke intercepted him.

"You aren't even worth this amount of trouble." Growled Sasuke. "You're nothing more than a sub-par shinobi with a stolen eye, a mere stain to be wiped off our shoes."

"This eye wasn't stolen, it was taken from a man who valued loyalty as a gift from a man who valued loyalty."

"LIE!" Sasuke shouted, pressing Aoba's kunai closer to his face with his blade. "An Uchiha would never betray their own as it seems they have with you!"

"It was no betrayal! You've seen my wife and daughter; you know I'm a man devoted to his family and to Konoha, just as the Uchiha I knew were! And this eye should know, because the last time it saw you it belonged to a caring parent." Aoba forced Sasuke away, sliding to a stop. "Behold my Mangekyo Sharingan, the eye of your father Fugaku Uchiha!"

As the echo faded into the black cloud of mist, Aoba heard a group of shinobi come up behind him.

"There they are!"

_Dammit, Naruto! What did I tell you?_ Looking back over his shoulder from Naruto and the others to Tobi, he realized this was exactly what the latter had had in mind from the beginning. _No, it all can't end like this, it can't!_ Naruto, Bee, Guy, Sasame and Yamato pattered to a stop behind Aoba, kunai and tanto drawn and at the ready.

"Aoba, are you alright?"

"This, it all falls on me, Yamato. I'm not a shinobi now, not even Aoba! I am no one now, only agony..." Tears began to form in Aoba's eyes, and he dropped down to his hands and knees.

"Don't worry, Aoba. I'll take care of Sasuke." Naruto said, stepping up. "Can you get to Tsunami and Ageha-chan?"

Aoba wiped his eyes and stood. "No, Naruto. It's not the time for you and Sasuke to meet in battle yet, but you'll have the moment soon!"

"But Aoba-"

"Get out of here! I'll be the last of my generation standing in the way, and then the path will be clear for you and Sasuke to meet!" Out of the corner of his eye Aoba saw someone darting for Naruto, and with a sharp turn Aoba focused on them and unleashed a golden-brown beam from his Daiyagan, the massive attack seeming to splatter just a bit, leaving a large hole in Deidara's chest that quickly began to turn dark, the Akatsuki being petrified. Yamato leaped over and separated Deidara's torso from his legs with a thrusting kick, while Guy darted in and snatched Tsunami and Ageha out of harm's way. In a moment that seemed to be an eternity but was only a few heartbeats Naruto held Aoba's gaze, and then nodded. He backed away as Sasame ran over with a scroll. Looking back he saw Tobi disappearing again, and an ethereal warrior of violet flames had sprung up around Sasuke.

"This will be over quickly, Yamashiro. Though I do want to thank you for one thing: you did help me on my way to Itachi." Said Sasuke, beginning to walk towards Aoba. "But that won't be enough to save you."

"Everyone clear out!" Aoba yelled, preparing himself for his ultimate dojutsu. He glimpsed Kabuto off in the trees, and then focused on Sasuke, who was now closing in on him. Summonin all his rage and pain and fury into his chakra, he activated both of his eyes in unison. "_Kagutsuchi!_" Beams of roiling black fire burst from Aoba's eyes, impacting Sasuke's Susanoo, a thunderous cracking noise sounding as they blasted into a large ball of flames, Tsunami's Black Rain Jutsu catching fire and further magnifying the blast.

Bursting through the treeline Aoba landed on the water and quickly ditched his flak jacket and cut off his burning sleeves and pant legs. Looking back he saw a massive wall of the fires of Amaterasu, the pavillion and nearby buildings wholly consumed. However, deep inside the blaze he caught a flicker of red with his Daiyagan, and prepared for the fight to continue.

Though not nearly to the extent of Kakashi, Aoba had indeed taken advantage of his Sharingan and copied several jutsu. _Wind jutsu because I'll always have air, Earth jutsu for when I'm on solid ground, and Water Jutsu for at sea!_ Quickly making the Ram, Horse, and Bird hand signs Aoba called "Tornado of Water!" The waes danced up around Aoba higher and higher until they spun in a tall column of water, which came up just in time to deflect several kunai and a sword strike. While his assailants were off balance Aoba made five more hand signs, using another copied technique. "Water Style: Furious Current Jutsu!" _That's not going to be as strong as I'd like but it'll have to do for now!_ The water slowly spun into a whirlpool, drawing Kabuto and Sasuke around with it as it gathered speed. Aoba took heavy breaths, running through all the jutsu he could use with his now limited amount of chakra. Getting the inspiration from his slight panic, Aoba played up the emotion and made the necessary hand signs: "Deranged Nirvana Jutsu: Path of Fear!"

It was an excellently timed shot, as while Kabuto spun out of the window of the genjutsu made by Aoba's thumb and forefinger triangle, Sasuke stayed in it as he leaped free of the current. Channeling some lightning chakra into his kunai Aoba ran in for his assault on Sasuke, keeping a snarl on his face. Despite his most aggressive attackings and being able to drive Sasuke back towards the bridge, Aoba found he could not completely gain the upper hand against the Uchiha. And while the kenjutsu mastery was unexpected, Aoba could see the panic in his opponent and the confusion as he tried to fight off the genjutsu. Backflipping and making sure to kick up water in Sasuke's face, Aoba flashed through three hand signs and used one of his copied water jutsu as he landed. "Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu!" Aoba snapped up the water whip and managed to catch Sasuke with it, as it appeared he had taken the brief moment to try dispelling the Deranged Nirvana Jutsu. Aoba spun around and slung Sasuke high into the air before slamming him onto the bridge. Pulling out another kunai, Aoba channeled lightning chakra into it and touched it to the Water Whip, the electricity dancing along it until it shocked Sasuke, causing him to force a pained hiss from between his teeth.

And then Aoba felt a blade slam into his back. "From what I've heard, dear old Sasuke hasn't been pushed this hard in... well, ever." Kabuto said. "But this wasn't exactly a one on one conflict in the first place, so I believe this round goes to me, Yamashiro."

Aoba sank down to his knees, just focusing on staying on top of the water. "This... won't end with me, Kabuto...!" Aoba gasped as the kunai was yanked out.

Kabuto leaned over Aoba's shoulder, and hissed into his ear: "Exactly. It's the cycle of hate your deluded little jinchuriki thinks he can put a stop to, and it most certainly won't end with you. Really, it's almost disappointing to see you go out like this, I was beginning to expect mo-" Kabuto looked down, and saw Aoba's glowing hand thrusted into his ribs near his navel snake.

"Erupting Burning Finger!" Feeling the heat spread, Kabuto molted as quick as he could but still caught most of the explosion on his back, his previous body blowing to pieces. On the edges of his vision Aoba saw Sasuke was somehow up again, and preparing some lightning style jutsu in his hand. Quickly making the hand signs, Aoba used his Scattering Thousand Crows Jutsu to cover his escape. He directed the crows to gather in a large murder overhead after he was momentarily out of sight, watching Kabuto slither over to Sasuke to talk. That was when the crows descended again, relentlessly pecking at the two; and as Kabuto found out Aoba had disguised shuriken inside a few of the crows. Going out on the move Aoba then sent out four kunai masked as crows, controlling their movements with wire. Blended in with the swarm, they came in right on target, catching Sasuke and Kabuto by surprise. "Hidden Technique: Stone Needles!" Flowing in his chakra through the wires, the two rogue ninja soon found themselves paralyed, unable to move. "Curse of hatred, huh... guess it cuts both ways." Aoba dropped down to his knees again, chakra nearly spent. "The crows will have a feast today..." Aoba closed his left eye, and wiped away the blood running down from it as he gave the best smirk he could.

"Wrong, it'll be the fish feasting!" Shocked, Aoba turned to see Tsunami runnining over towards them, holding her stomach. She stopped and raised her hands up, then brought them down to the water. "Water Style: Storm Upheaval!" A huge amount of water came down from the sky, crashing down onto Sasuke and Kabuto! after it washed away, Aoba could see them slowly sinking down into the sea. He and Tsunami shared a long glance, and then he walked over Tsunami leaned on him for support as they turned to face the wall of black flames.

"Perhaps I was wrong." Aoba looked over his shoulder, and it was Tobi who spoke! He was carrying Sasuke over his shoulder, and Kabuto was on the bridge to his side. Both appeared to have been released from the effects of Stone Needles. "But this isn't your war, Yamashiro- if you make yourself a threat, you _will _be dealt with."

"This _is _my war, Tobi: you seek to control the whole world, and the whole world will rise up against you. But you had to have known that when you started this war."

"You have _no right_ to condescend to me! If the entire world stands against me it only means the curse of hatred has been planted in the heart of the entire world! It is not a cycle that you or Naruto can stop- only I have the means to bring it to an end!" Tobi hopped onto the bridge next to Kabuto, and laid a hand on the ninja's shoulder and began to slowly teleport away. "Don't count this as a victory, for you've only been punching at smoke..." Aoba stared into space after Tobi was gone, until Tsunami tugged at his shirt.

"The others..." Aoba nodded, and he turned and walked with Tsunami back to the shore.

~oOo~

"...So they got away?" Yamato asked.

"I'm afraid so," Aoba confirmed.

"Well at least they didn't capture Bee or Naruto. We should still be able to get them to the Turtle Island, then." Yamato nodded. "How soon will you be ready?"

"I could go whenever the crew's ready, I could get the remainder of my bed rest onboard the ship."

"Alright then, we'll head out in the morning. Killer Bee has already left on his yacht, so we'll be keeping in touch with them via messenger birds to get to the island."

"And Tsunami and the kids?" Asked Aoba.

"On their way to Konoha," Might Guy assured. "It's only natural, as Tazuna will help with recontructing the village again."

_And I haven't seen Sasame, I wonder where she's off to..._ Thought Aoba. He nodded to Yamato and Guy, and they walked off into the sunset back to the inn.

"Say, you still haven't explained how you survived Sasuke's Amaterasu technique," Guy started.

"Simple," Aoba stated with his customary smirk. "There are no flames that can burn the god of destruction..."

**THE END**


End file.
